Meant to be
by misseliza87
Summary: Post S5. Detonating the bomb has worked. The crash never happens. We start off on flight 815 to LA. Jack and Kate don't know each other yet. Will fate bring them together? JATE AU (because S6 made me cry)
1. Ch1 - 815

A/N1: It's been ten years now since the first episode of Lost, wow.

I recently rewatched all episodes and I still refuse to accept that last season, Jack dying to save the island... Jate is fate after all.  
So what would have happened if detonating the bomb had worked, the plane never crashed.  
What happened never actually happened, we start off on flight 815. Will Kate and Jack still find each other in the end?

English is not my native language.

I do not own Lost or any of the characters.

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**Chapter 1 - 815**

He wrists hurt from the cold hard metal of her handcuffs.

The dry air of the plane's air conditioning made her head hurt.

They were about to land in LA in 3 hours and all she could think about was how to get out of this mess, how to run from all that awaited her after the landing.

"I need to go to the toilet..." she said quietly, not daring to look at the Marshal.

"What was that?" Kate could sense the smirk in his voice.

"Please, I really need to go." she said again, a little louder now. She hated having to ask like that, saying 'please' to the man who had chased her around the world, from whom she'd managed to run so many times, except this one time, two days ago.

He sighed and grabbed the keys from his belt.

"I am going to take off the cuffs for that, don't you dare to try anything on me. It's not like you could run anywhere now anyway." That said he bent down, roughly grabbing her ankles, loosening the cuffs there, then he moved to free her wrists.

Kate massaged the sore skin there, wincing in pain.

"C'mon let's go." he got up, pulling her up with him by the elbow.

Leaning towards her on their way back to the toilets he whispered in her ear.

"Now you be a good girl, Kate. I'll be waiting right outside."

A few rows further to the front Jack cursed under his breath before downing the last drop of his drink. The cool liquor hadn't done anything to mute his father's voice in his head that told him he still wasn't good enough, telling him that what had happened was his fault, that Jack had failed him.

He hated flying.

Sighing he asked himself where ha had gone wrong, when his life had started spinning out of control. He could be standing in the OR right now, where things seemed to be simple, where he knew exactly what to do and how to do it.  
Outside the hospital things were not as simple. Every time he tried to do the right thing things got out of hand. And now here he was, in a plane from Sydney to LA, bringing back his father's remains, bringing him home.  
'Home' he thought, silently chuckling to himself. There wasn't much of home left for him.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat he noticed his bladder was painfully full.  
He pulled himself to a standing position and walked to the back of the cabin where he saw a big man in a suit banging impatiently on the door of the toilet.

"C'mon Kate, time's up." the Marshal said loudly through the door, then turned to the man approaching him.

"Sorry, my girl don't take flying so well..." he drawled.

Jack just nodded, taking a step back when the toilet door finally opened and his eyes met those of the beautiful but pale brunette emerging from there.  
He then noticed the other man grabbing her deftly by the upper arm.

"Had fun in there?" the guy smirked smugly at the woman and then began pulling her past Jack, back towards where they must have been sitting.

Walking past him she brushed against Jack's side, shyly looking up at him with sad eyes.  
He couldn't do anything but notice how good she smelled, how warm her body felt against his, even through the many layers of his suit.

"Sorry" she muttered and then she continued after the other man.

For a second Jack had to fight the urge to go after her, grab her wrist, ask her if everything is okay, take her away from that man she clearly was not happy with.  
He shook his head and smiled to himself as he locked the door of the small room behind him.  
It had been a while since his head and his heart had played a trick like that on him.

Meanwhile the Marshal had put back the cuffs on Kate's wrists and ankles, who was looking outside the window in silence. She still had the smell of cologne and of what was it? Gin Tonic? Vodka Orange? in her nose.  
When she had come out of the restroom she felt like the tall man waiting there had been looking right through her. When she had brushed his side her heart had skipped a beat and her palms had become sweaty. Kate couldn't remember when a man had ever done that to her. Probably never.  
For a second she had thought about asking him to help her, to take her away from the Marshal.

She bit back a bitter laugh, earning a curious look from the Marshal.

The rest of the flight they sat in silence, staying in their place until most of the passengers had left the plane after the landing until the Marshal finally took the cuffs off her ankles, putting the chains in the aluminium suitcase he had brought with him.  
As they got up to leave the plane Kate's eyes wandered around, looking at the few remaining passengers who also had waited for the chaos of people pushing to the exits to subside.

Her eyes landed on the handsome stranger she'd met on her trip to the restroom, feeling slightly nervous when she realized that he would see her handcuffs and know that she was not just on a regular trip, that she was in fact a criminal.

"You going to behave?" Jack heard the strange man say to the brunette woman as he neared the exit, thinking it was odd how that guy talked to her.

She met Jack's eyes as she felt him approaching, a strange mixture of fear, shame and anger in her eyes, then looked down at the floor.  
Following her gaze down her body he saw the handcuffs, and looked back up at her face as she looked at him again.

"Wouldn't expect a pretty bird like her to be a criminal, would you?" the man next to her, probably a federal marshal of some sort, Jack thought, said to him grinning.

Then he started pulling her roughly down the gangway.  
Jack didn't know what to think except that this guy was a total ass.

Walking a few steps behind the pair he saw the woman turning her head around, almost looking apologetically at him.

And before he knew what he was doing he smiled and mouthed a silent 'bye', just when they were joined by two police officers who took her with them into a small room to the right.

* * *

A/N2: I have so many ideas how this could go on... how I can bring our favourite couple together...  
So thrilled to be writing again after 6 years.

Please feel free to give your feedback. ;)


	2. Ch2 - Change of plans

AN: So this is what I came up with. Hope you like it. I just had to do something like this... :)  
Thanks for the feedback.

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**Chapter 2 – Change of Plans**

Kate felt her heart beating wildly in her chest.  
They had sat her down at a small table in a brightly lit room, telling her to stay put and not say anything until her transport arrived.  
'This is it' she thought. There was no way on earth she could get away now.

The Marshal stood on the other side of the room, leaning casually against the wall.  
"Runnin's over, Kate. In an hour you'll be sitting in a cell. Got a lawyer?" he smiled.

She didn't want to talk to him anymore, she just wanted to wipe that smile right off his face, get out of the handcuffs and run as far away as possible. Staring at the scratched surface of the old wooden table in front of her she fought the tears that threatened to form in her eyes.  
"Nothing's gonna get you out of this now. Bet you even wished the plane to crash."  
Kate still kept her mouth shut.

Then the door opened, two more officers entering the room, telling her to stand up.

The Marshal walked up to her, grabbing her left upper arm again, while one of the officers took the right side. The group started walking through the busy airport to a side exit where a police van was waiting for them, for Kate.  
"I'll be riding with you." the Marshal informed the officers. "Need to make sure my favorite criminal is locked up safely." he winked at Kate.

They got in the van, Kate and one of the officers sitting in the back, the Marshal and the other cop in the front.  
"Take a good look around, Katie. Might be some time until you get to enjoy a view again, other than plain old prison walls." His voice started to get on her nerves.  
Panic was all Kate felt when they finally started moving. This couldn't be happening.  
She looked out the window desperately trying to come up with some idea, some way to get out of the van.  
She could try and grab the cop's gun, hold it to his head and then force them to let her go.  
No, not a good idea. The Marshal would probably rather shoot her to death and risk the cop's life instead of losing her again.

"Watch out!" she suddenly heard the Marshal yell as she felt the driver slam his foot on the brake.

The van started spinning, crashing into something but not coming to a halt.  
Then there was another crash, change of direction. Were they upside down now?  
Kate did not know what was going on, being thrown violently around in the rolling car despite her seatbelt. Shards of glass hit her in the face. Yelling. The sound of metal on metal and metal on concrete. Another change of direction. She hit her head, once, twice.  
And then there was darkness and absolute silence.

"If you could just sign here, Dr. Sheperd." the clerk smiled sympathetically at Jack as she handed him a pen. He nodded and put his signature on the piece of paper in front of him.  
"Thank you. The coffin will be delivered to the destination within the next two hours. Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. Thanks." he managed a smile as he turned around to leave.

After 2 hours of waiting and filling out paperwork and then even more paperwork all he wanted to do is go home, have a shower and then pour himself a drink or two.  
He already sat in the cab as he turned his phone on. It started beeping immediately, informing him about 4 missed calls from the hospital.  
Sighing he punched the dial button to listen to his voicemail.  
"Sheperd, you back in LA? I know you still have two days off but there's been a mass crash on the freeway. We have at least 6 multiple traumas coming in. We need you here right now!" his chief of surgery yelled over the noise in the ER.

"Change of plans." Jack informed the cab driver, running a hand through his cropped hair.

Absolute chaos is was greeted Jack when he entered the ER of St. Sebastians.  
Nurses and doctors were running from room to room as yet another ambulance rolled into the emergency bay.  
"Sheperd. Good you're here!" he heard the chief shout from across the hallway. "You take the next one, we're kinda busy here." and with that he disappeared into trauma room 3 again.

Jack grabbed a coat and gloves and hurried towards the approaching EMTs.  
"You a doctor?" the young female EMT asked and he nodded.  
"What do we have?"  
"Female patient, mid to late twenties, GCS 6, unconscious the whole time, intubated, pupils reacting normally, open spinal trauma, head trauma, fractured shoulder, BP is 90 to 40, heartrate 136." the woman informed him within seconds.  
It was now that Jack looked at his patients bloodstained face. HER.  
His heart rate sped up a notch at the realisation.  
"You should know, she was on a police van, still got the handcuffs on her." the older EMT added.  
"I don't care what she is. Nurse, get me someone to cut those cuffs off. We need to do a CAT scan, make sure there's no internal bleeding. She needs an IV and volume before she goes into shock. Asap!" Jack ordered, hurrying down the hallway along the stretcher.


	3. Ch3 - A new accomplice

AN: Thank you all again for the kind feedback. I'm really happy that you guys like what I came up with so far! :)  
Well I'm not entirely sure about the on-island-memories... How could they have experienced all this if it never happened? Maybe it's more of a feeling that they are connected...  
Soooo... new chapter, slighty longer this time. Hope you like it! Enjoy 

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**Chapter 3 – A new accomplice**

"Take her up to the ICU, I'll be there in an hour. Anything happens, page me." Jack said to the nurse as he finally exited the OR.  
His body yearning for a hot shower. And a coffee. And something to eat, anything with some sugar in it.  
When he came back to the ICU there were two cops waiting for him, asking about his patient's status, her injuries, telling him to be careful around her, that she was dangerous and they would have to handcuff her and place a guard outside her room at all times.  
"Doctor Shephard, you have to understand, there is a high risk that this woman might try to run."  
This was ridiculous, he thought.  
"Listen." Jack was about to lose his patience. "This woman just had major surgery. I don't think that she's gonna do a lot of running for the next few days. She is MY patient and I won't allow the handcuffs." With that he turned around and opened the door to the ICU, leaving the two policemen behind.

"Miss Austen? Miss Austen!" A distant voice seemed to be calling Kate's name again and again.  
Her head hurt. That was the first thing she felt when the blankness was slowly replaced by reality, as she regained consciousness.  
Kate tried to open her eyes, blinking at the bright light someone seemed to hold just a few inches from her face and then took it away again.  
She wanted to speak, to ask where she was, what had happened but when she tried to open her mouth something stopped her.  
Starting to panic, tears began forming in her eyes. She wanted to lift her arm, try to remove whatever was keeping her from talking. But a strong warm hand held her arm in place.  
"Hey, just relax. You were in an accident but you're going to be okay." she heard the soft male voice explain calmly. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the light so she looked around, eventually finding the source of that voice right next to her. HIM.  
"There's a machine helping you breathe at the moment. That's why you can't talk. But I think that we might be able to take out the tube by tomorrow morning. You want to hear what happened?" he asked, sitting down in a chair right next to Kate's bed. She nodded, grimacing at the pain she felt in her head.  
"You were brought to the ER, unconscious and already intubated. Your body was about to go into shock when you came in. There was no internal bleeding so it was just a reaction to the trauma of the crash. I had to operate on you since you had fractured a vertebra." he spoke slowly to let her comprehend what he was saying, his eyes never leaving hers.  
"Thankfully there was no nerve damage so I just stabilized the bone with a small piece of metal. In a few weeks you won't even feel it's there. You also suffered a concussion, so you're going to have a headache for a few days. And you dislocated your left shoulder pretty badly but it's all back in place now." he trailed off, finally averting his gaze.

"I... I just wanted to tell you this before I went home. I'll be back in the morning to check up on you and maybe we'll take out that tube then." he said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he got up to leave.

'Small world' Kate thought when the handsome stranger had gone and a nurse entered the room.  
"Doctor Shephard told me to give you something so you could sleep." the young woman smiled at Kate. She tried to shake her head 'no' but the nurse had already started to inject her with the drug.  
"It's alright. You need to rest. Just try and relax."  
And then Kate's eyelids got heavy, the noise of the machines around her fading away quickly.

Jack hadn't slept all night. Every time he turned around and tried closing his eyes, his mind kept wandering back to the flight. To the mysterious brunette woman in handcuffs that had somehow ended up on his operating table the very same day he'd met her.  
Now he was back at the hospital, on his day off, just to check on her.  
'Kate Austen' as he had learned from the two cops who had questioned him after the surgery like operating on that woman had made him her accomplice.

Her chart in hand Jack entered her room, forcing himself not to smile too brightly at the woman who had occupied his mind for the past 15 hours.  
'Get it together, Jack' His mind scolded him.  
"Morning" he had managed to say in a professional manner.  
The young woman looked at him curiously, waiting for him to continue since she was not able to answer.  
"Looks like you're doing well, your lab is fine, no signs of infection. I'm going to get my colleague in a minute to take the tube out. Your throat is going to be pretty sore so it'll be best if you don't speak too much for the next few hours." He let his eyes linger on her face a few seconds longer as would have been appropriate, shaking his head when he realized he was staring.  
"Uhm... I'll be back in a minute." he smiled sheepishly.

Three hours later Kate had already been allowed to drink some tea. Only small sips of course but it helped with the croakiness.  
She hadn't seen the doctor since this morning and not talked to anyone else yet.  
Every time she heard footsteps outside in the hallway she hoped he'd come to check up on her.  
She'd hold her breath a few seconds, staring at the door, nervously toying with her blanket.  
'I'm being ridiculous.' she thought to herself. She should be thinking about a way out of this place. She should be thinking about how to distract the officer outside her room who keeps popping his head in twice an hour to see if she's still there. There was no way out the window, this was at least the fifth floor and climbing with her hurt shoulder was out of the question.  
'Better come up with something soon, Kate...'

It was already getting dark outside when Jack decided to stop by Kate's room once more, before heading home.  
He'd spent most of the day catching up on patients' records, doing paperwork, to keep his mind occupied and from wandering.  
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he entered the small patients room.  
"Fine. Thank you." Kate smiled a bitter smile. "You know you really don't have to do this... being nice to me. They are going to transfer me to a prison hospital soon anyway..."  
His head fell a little. She was right.  
"Yeah, I don't have to do it. But maybe I want to. Maybe... maybe I'll tell them that you are in no condition to be moved anywhere in the near future." He paced back and forth, then walking over to the window, turning around to look at her, smiling.  
Even he was not quite sure whether he was kidding or being serious.

"More time for me to bail." Kate said jokingly, silently cursing herself for her answer.  
But the tall man in front of her kept smiling.  
Like she hadn't just announced that she was about to run from the police as soon as she saw a chance.

"Yeah good luck with that." he laughed. "What are you gonna do? Drug the guy sitting outside your room?"  
"Maybe." Kate smiled back at him, thinking that this interaction was the closest to flirting she'd come in three years.

"Then I probably shouldn't tell you that there's several police cars outside, covering almost all the exits." he teased, suspiciously pulling back the drapes and looking outside.

"Almost you say." Kate grinned. "You wanna tell me what they missed? Just so I can start planning my great escape."  
"You know as your doctor I need to advise you to postpone the running for a few more days." the handsome man joked, heading for the door, but turning around once more, his hand resting on the handle. "And if I told you they're not guarding the exit of the underground parking... well, you'd probably use the first chance you get." he raised his eyebrows, shaking his head chuckling.  
"So I'm not going to tell you that, Miss Austen. Good night." Jack added teasingly as he opened the door and left.

'What's wrong with you, Jack' he asked himself on the drive home.


	4. Ch4 - Good-bye

AN: Sorry for the late update... I had to work a lot of night-shifts (as a paramedic in Germany) the past week and then celebrated my birthday on the week-end... So I did not really find the time to just relax and write...  
But here it finally is... I hope the new chapter works for you. ;) 

**Chapter 4 – Good-bye**

"Morning Katie." The familiar voice woke her.  
She didn't dare to open her eyes, fully knowing who she'd see when she did so.  
"I know you're awake, darling."  
Kate sighed, opening her eyes, she pushed herself into a sitting position on the hospital bed.  
"I'm not your darling." she stated.  
The Marshal grinned at her. He was sitting in a wheelchair next to her bed, his head held up by his right arm.  
"You know right after the crash, when they'd pulled me out of the van, I almost believed that you did this. That you miraculously had found a way to crash the van, just to escape."

"Yeah. Haven't I told you about my new superpowers?" Kate smirked, making sure he knew how much she despised him.  
"Just so you know, Kate. I won't let you get away again. You try to run, I'm gonna shoot you. I've had enough of your games. I need this to be over. So you be a good girl and enjoy your all-inclusive-stay as long as it lasts. Won't be that comfy in prison." he finished as he turned to leave.  
"Glad you're okay." she heard him yell in the hallway just before the door fell shut.

After breakfast Kate was moved to a regular trauma ward on the third floor.  
Later that day she practiced walking with a physical therapist, wincing in pain now and then, but at least she wasn't bedbound anymore.

As the evening neared she could not help but feel a slight disappointment.  
She hadn't seen Doctor Shephard all day. He'd been the only one who didn't act all cautious and mistrustful around her so far. And she liked his smile. And his eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes that seemed to look into the depths of her soul.  
If only things were different... she'd ask him out for a coffee. Or to dinner. Something like that.  
Kate laughed at her own thoughts when she pictured herself with him, walking down the beach on some distant island, holding hands. She hadn't felt that familiar tingling sensation in her tummy for a very long time. But here it was.  
'Great timing. Never gonna happen' she thought, reminding herself that she'd screwed up every chance at a normal life the moment she had decided to blow up the house.

The sun had almost disappered completely when she heard a soft knock on the door, making her jump.  
"You awake?" Jack Shephard smiled when he peeked through the crack in the door.  
"Sure, come in." Kate sat up straighter, hastily running a hand through her hair.  
"Sorry to bother you this late. I had to attend a funeral today. So I thought I'd check up on you on the way home." he sat down in the chair near the window and looked over to the brunette woman who suddenly seemed to be very nervous.  
"Who died?" she asked, immediately regretting the question and expecting him to tell her it's none of her business.  
"Uhm... my father died in Sydney last week. That's why I was on the flight, to bring him back." he answered truthfully, silently asking himself why he was telling this story to a complete stranger.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." Kate said, very interested in the ceiling fan all of a sudden.  
"It's okay. It's not like you could use that information against me." the good looking doctor tried to joke.  
Kate was silent for a moment before she decided to speak again.  
"The Marshal came to see me today. Said if I try to run he's gonna shoot me this time."  
Jack looked at her, seeing that she was on the verge of crying now. Before he knew what he was doing, he got up, walked to her side and then put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.  
There was an awkward silence between them as a few tears escaped Kate's eyes and rolled down her cheeks.  
Not knowing what to say he moved to pull away when Kate grabbed his arm, holding it in place.  
"Thank you" she whispered, not daring to look up at the man next to her.  
It was not just for the gesture, but for him being the way he was with her, for treating her like a human being and not just a fugitive.  
After a long pause she finally let go of his arm, letting him take a few steps back.  
He awkwardly cleared his throat and loosened his tie. It had suddenly become very warm in the room.  
"Well. I think I should go home now, but I'm going to pay you a short visit before rounds in the morning." he almost stuttered, not looking her in the eye once.  
He felt strangely insecure around her, a women he'd only known for a few days, but on the other hand it was so easy being around her, like they'd known each other for a lifetime.

Jack walked around her bed but stopped before arriving at the door.  
"Are you gonna try?" he asked with his back turned towards her.  
"Try what?" Kate asked, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear.  
"To run..."  
He heard her chuckle behind him and turned around to look at her.  
"Why? You wanna help me?" she smiled, lightening the mood.  
Jack smiled back at her. "Just wouldn't want you to get shot is all."  
Seeing her grin like that made his heartrate speed up a notch.  
"Uhm... so see you in the morning." was all he managed, opening the door behind him.  
"Good night, doctor Shephard."  
"It's Jack." he answered lightly, finally leaving her room.

That night Kate had a hard time falling asleep.  
It seemed very unreal, meeting a person she found herself being drawn to so easily, especially given the circumstances of her being a criminal and his patient.  
'It's Jack' she heard his voice again and again in her head until it finally lulled her into a deep slumber, knowing she would hear his voice again in the morning.

But it had all turned out very differently.  
He didn't show up in the morning. Kate had been sent to get another CAT scan, they'd done more lab work and a quick physical before noon.  
Jack wasn't there.  
She told herself he probably had been called to some sort of emergency procedure, that he was saving a life and had no time for foolish chitchat. He was a doctor with a real life after all.

She thought it felt odd how the nurses and the young doctor who did her exam had behaved around her. Nervous and cautious.  
And there had been an officer by her side at all times, watching her every move.  
Kate knew something was up.

When she was brought back to her room there was a clean set of clothing lying on her bed, neatly folded, and the Marshal sitting in the armchair near the window.  
"You have two hours to get cleaned up and have some lunch Katie. And then it's time to say bye-bye to your comfy stay at the Sebastien's Inn. You're gonna check out." he stated, never looking at her.  
For a second Kate wanted to ask where they would take her, why today, but then she recognized the pile on her bed. A prison uniform.  
She opened her mouth to say something, almost ready to beg the Marshal to not do this to her. Not yet. Not today.  
Before the information had completely sunken in, the tall man was standing next to her, giving her a menacing look.  
"Don't even think about it. I meant what I said. I'm not gonna play nice this time. Time to face the music, Katie. I'll be back in exactly 2 hours. Be ready."

After the Marshal had gone, after he'd left her standing in the small patients room she felt numb.  
A nurse brought her food, but Kate wasn't hungry. She just sat there looking at her hands lying in her lap and decided to take a final long hot shower in privacy.

Two floors above, Jack sat in his office, staring at the surface of his desk.  
An hour ago, his chief of surgery had paid him a visit, telling him that Miss Austen would be transferred to the medical ward in prison this afternoon and that he should start writing his report for the doctors there. He had cleared her to check out.  
Jack had just nodded and watched the chief leave, fighting the urge to tell him they couldn't let her go just yet. That she needed to stay longer.  
He needed to see her. Just one last time, he told himself. She was his patient after all.  
His body was moving in an instant, completely on its own, hurriedly walking out of his office, down the long corridor towards the staircase.  
It all had been a blur to Jack, only just coming to his senses as he was already knocking on Kate's door. The cop sitting next to it threw him a mischievous look.

Inside the room there was... no one.  
Jack looked around. She couldn't have vanished could she? Then his eyes landed on her bed, on the pile of clothes and the distant sound of running water reached his ears, and then it had stopped.  
Swallowing hard he turned around towards the adjoining bathroom door, his breathing a little bit quicker than normal.  
'I should leave' he thought nervously, his mind imagining her behind that door in the steamy bathroom, wrapping a big soft towel around her small form.

"Jack?" she gave him a surprised smile when she stepped back into the room.  
"Huh." he couldn't look at her, couldn't really come up with a complete sentence either, his eyes clearly avoiding her, his cheeks slightly flushed.  
"Jack, you alright?" Kate said, making him turn to look at her.  
"Sure." he finally managed after a long pause. The towel she was wearing was definitely shorter than the one he had imagined a minute ago.  
"So... they're going to come and get me in half an hour." she walked around him while putting her hair together on her head.  
Jack wanted to tell her he was sorry, that there wasn't really anything he could have done, but the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth.  
"I know. My... my boss just told me a few minutes ago."  
He watched her pick up the clothes from the bed, a few damp strands of hair hanging loosely into her face as she turned around towards him.  
"I'm gonna have to get dressed... So I guess this is good-bye then." she smiled.  
"Thanks for everything, Jack." Kate walked towards him, stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

It took a moment until Jack was finally able to from a clear thought in his head again.  
He'd been rooted to the spot, not moving, probably not even breathing for a minute.  
Though he could still feel the heat of her body against his, feel her lips on his cheek and smell that wonderful smell of her freshly shampooed hair, she'd already disappeared into the bathroom again.  
It was that moment when he decided to just once, do the thing he felt was right, do what his heart told him, completely shutting out his brain, his fathers voice in his head that told him he'd regret what he was about to do for the rest of his life.


End file.
